Replacing skirting but not architrave

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Pieface

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Hi, my house is 20 years old with architraves and skirting boards just as old. I am replacing the flooring and will be replacing the skirting boards with primed MDF ones. The architraves (currently in gloss white paint) look fine and so I am not thinking about replacing them. Both skirting and architrave will be painted in satin white. I am concerned that once painted one will look different to the other because of their age difference and that one has been painted on before and the other not. Is this a valid concern? Or would it be the case that once painted, both would look the same? If I have to change the architraves I would rather change them now rather then discover that when the whole house has been repainted. Thank you.
 
I changed my skirting boards to plain mdf one a couple of years ago without changing the architrave. I didn't consider it could be an issue and don't find it a problem now that they are done. My doors are plain also so they match the skirting's style. We also moved from gloss to satin.
 
In my hall / stairs / landing, I put up new panel doors, new turned newel posts and put up dado rails leaving original skirtings and archives etc, when everything was properly painted, old and new were all the same white.
 
The architrave may have been painted with an oil based paint while today you’d be using water based, so you might need a primer/block coat first but once done I agree with others it will blend right in colour wise.
 
Once they both end up painted with the same finish, they should blend pretty well. The only concern would be if the architraves were battered over the years and pristine skirting alongside that might stand out, but given you want to keep it I'm assuming it's in decent condition. As with most repainting jobs, time and care spent on prep (sanding in this case) will play a very significant role in how well it turns out.

You can still buy oil-based paint, gives a longer lasting finish.
 
Apart altogether from the yellowing I think the satinwood finish looks better indoors. And it is more forgiving of imperfections if the OP is concerned about the old architrave. Maybe gloss in a situation where a lot of battering can be anticipated but otherwise a good quality satinwood wears well.
 
Leo said:
All oil based paints will yellow a little over time, you can minimise this by ensuring a warm environment with as much sunlight as possible during drying.
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not always possible here, on that basis i would be avoiding it, your lovely white paint becomes a creamy yellowy mess after 4 or 5 years.
 
Skirting & architrave tend to be chosen in a similar moulding to match.

It might look odd if they are very different.

I paint skirting in same paint as walls (Colourtrend ceramic matt), easy to scrub clean & repaint if needed. All my tenanted properties are painted the same & it stands up well.
 
Blackrock1 said:
not always possible here, on that basis i would be avoiding it, your lovely white paint becomes a creamy yellowy mess after 4 or 5 years.
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Unlikely the become a mess within that timeframe, but the water based paints offer less protection and have a shorter life. The water based alternatives are improving but they've still got a way to go.
 
Leo said:
Unlikely the become a mess within that timeframe, but the water based paints offer less protection and have a shorter life. The water based alternatives are improving but they've still got a way to go.
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in the 19 new builds in our estate they have (we were the only ones who repainted all woodwork when we moved in and painter advised against oil based paint)
 
Leo said:
The water based alternatives are improving but they've still got a way to go.
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I found that when painting white doors, needed to be done often and even with washing around handles it wasn't anything near as good as oil based.
 
Reactions: Leo
Thank you very much for all your comments. I have another question if you don’t mind.
MDF skirting boards are sold in lengths of between 4.2m-5.4m. When installing them is it “best practice” to use one individual piece of skirting to cover the whole length of the wall or is it ok to join a few shorter pieces together? Just wondering about how to purchase them and the wastage.
 
Use the longest piece you can where possible.

If you have to join, scarf cut, sand & fill well & you should be fine
 
Reactions: Leo
Leo said:
Unlikely the become a mess within that timeframe, but the water based paints offer less protection and have a shorter life. The water based alternatives are improving but they've still got a way to go.
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Was just reading online apparently newer oil based paints yellow much more quickly due to the composition to adhere to VOC requirements. People reporting yellowing after 6 months!
 
Blackrock1 said:
Was just reading online apparently newer oil based paints yellow much more quickly due to the composition to adhere to VOC requirements. People reporting yellowing after 6 months!
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The yellowing was a significant issue with many of the early low VOC paints complying with the 2010 regs, when I mentioned improvements it is in paints or formulations updated since.

Of course some pros might like the speed of application of water based, and how often they'll be called back to re-paint as it's much less hardwearing.
 
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